Pilot
Pilot is, fairly obviously, the pilot episode of Roswell. It was adapted by Jason Katims from the book Roswell High #1: The Outsider by Melinda Metz, the story for which was also written (albeit uncredited even on the book) by Laura J. Burns. Neither Metz or Burns recieve credit for the episode. Instead, the title card simply reads "Written by Jason Katims." (In fact, Metz and Burns never receive credit for their creation. The closest thing they get is in the end credits of each episode, which simply says that the series is based on the series published by Pocket Books, but does not specify the authors. Summary In September of 1999, fifteen-year-old Liz Parker writes in her journal about the events of the past few days. Liz is a native of the famous Roswell, New Mexico, and works in her parents' alien-themed restaurant the Crashdown Cafe, with her best friend Maria DeLuca. Liz is dating the Sheriff's son, Kyle Valenti, but Maria suggests that the quietkid, Max Evans is staring at her from across the restauarant. When an altercation between two customers gets out of hand, a gun goes off, and Liz is hit. In the confusion, Max sees her, and runs up to her, putting his hand on her belly and miraculously curing the wound before fleeing. Liz tells everyone that she spilled ketchup on herself, but many people are suspicious, including Maria and Sheriff Valenti, who notes the presence of empty bottles of Tobasco sauce at the crime scene. When Liz enters her room that night, she notes a silver handprint over where her bullet wound was. The next school day, Liz confronts Max, who reveals simply that he is an alien before she runs off. Max has trouble dealing with his sister Isabel and their friend Michael Guerin, who are also aliens, and are furious to learn that after keeping the secret their whole lives, Max has let someone know. They are stopped on the road by Sheriff Valenti, who notes the presence of empty Tobasco sauce bottles in their car. Coming home from a date with Kyle, he notes the handprint on her belly, but she quickly covers it up. That night, Max shows up at her house, and reveals he recieved flashes of images from her life when he healed her. He wants to touch her again and make the connection go the other way so that she can see that he's still a "normal" person. The attempt works, and Liz sees herself through Max's eyes. Not only does she realize that Max has been infatuated with her his whole life, but she comes to have feelings for him. Later on, Liz is looking for her missing book bag before being confronted by her and Maria's friend Alex, who is concerned due to Maria constantly talking about Liz lying to her. She assures Alex that everything is fine, but is then asked by the Sheriff's department to speak with Sheriff Valenti. He shows her a picture from 1959 of a John Doe who was killed mysteriously with no apparent cause of death except a silver handprint on his chest. He tells her Kyle saw a similar mark on her on their date, but she shows him her stomach, where the mark has faded. Valenti asks her if Max Evans was one of the kids at the Crashdown the day of the shooting, which she denies before he gives her her book back, which has been "turned in." Valenti is then shown talking with an FBI Agent. We see that he has stolen her waitress's uniform from the bag, found the bullet hole, and is giving it to the FBI for testing. His conversation with the skepticle agent reveals that his father, also a sheriff, was ostricized by the community for being obsessed with the idea of aliens. He showed Jim the photo of that John Doe when he was eight years old. Until now, he has always thought of his father as being just as crazy as everyone else does, but now he's not so sure. Liz finally confronts Max, wanting the whole truth. That truth is that he, Isabel, and Michael, emerged from these sort of gestation pods in 1989, looking like six year olds, before he and Isabel were found on the side of the road by a kind couple. Michael was found and put in a foster care situation. They never told anyone, including their own parents, about their alien origins, and they themselves have no idea where they come from. Liz then tells Max about Valenti's suspicions. Max panics, and gathers Michael and Isabel, preparing to leave town. As Max, Michael and Isabel pack up, Liz is confronted by Maria, who demands to know the truth before she goes to Valenti herself. When Liz tells her, she understandably flips out, but the pair soon see the trio of aliens leaving town, and decide to follow them. Liz and Maria are greeted hostily by Michael and Isabel, but she convinces them not to leave town. They concoct a plan to throw Valenti off. Liz gets Kyle to go to the annual Crash Festival wearing his alien costume, while Max goes, knowing Sheriff Valenti will be looking for him. As Valenti confronts Max, a crash is heard, and what Valenti sees as he runs to the scene is Maria, apparently run over by her own car, with a person in an alien suit laying his hand on her. When he runs to her, he sees a silver handprint on her chest, as if she has been injured and healed by the stranger. He runs into the crowd to find the stranger, but the person in the crowd wearing the costume is Kyle. Michael, meanwhile, discards a similar costume in a toilet stall. Valenti is not entirely fooled by the deception, as he notices the silver handprint is paint. He tells Max he's going to find out the truth, and lets him go. Max then meets Liz on top of a hill outside the festival. Although it is clear the two have feelings for each other, Max says it is not safe for them to get involved. Guest Stars *John Doe as Jeff Parker *Michael Horse as Deputy Owen Blackwood *Wendle Josepher as Jennifer *Kevin Weissman as Larry Trilling *Vance Valencia as Mayor Sadler *Joe Camareno as Paramedic *Yolanda Lloyd Delgado as Ms. Hardy *Channing Carson as Liz at 7 years *Daniel Hansen as Max at 7 years *Zoe Nutter as Isabel at 7 years *Jonathan Frakes as Festival's M.C. (uncredited) 'Editor: 'Stephen Mark Category:Roswell episodes